The effect of web-based education on pregnant women’s readiness for hygienic newborn care: a randomized controlled trial

Web-based educational applications for primiparous pregnant women have emerged as an important tool for addressing knowledge gaps stemming from inexperience and providing support to mothers in newborn care. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based educational program designed to improve primiparous mothers' knowledge and skills regarding newborn care. The sample of this randomized controlled trial consisted of pregnant women aged 19 years and older who were between 24 and 33 weeks of gestation. Both groups received routine antenatal care and education provided as part of standard clinical practice, while the intervention group additionally received a four-week web-based newborn hygiene care education program. The primary outcome was readiness for hygienic newborn care, assessed using the Scale for Readiness of Pregnant Women to Hygienic Care of the Newborn. A post-test was conducted four weeks after the pre-test. Data were collected using the Socio-Demographic Data Form and Scale For Readiness of Pregnant Women to Hygienic Care of The Newborn. The study was completed with 87 pregnant women (control = 45, intervention = 42). There was no statistically significant difference between the control group (50.3 ± 7.72) and the intervention group (48.8 ± 15.7) in the pre-test total scores of the Pregnant Women's Readiness for Hygienic Care of Newborns Scale. However, at the post-test assessment, the intervention group demonstrated a significantly higher mean score (62.3 ± 7.37) than the control group (49.9 ± 7.23) (t = − 7.934, 95% CI: − 15.5 to − 9.3, p < .001). The maximum possible score on the scale was 70. This study demonstrates that web-based newborn care education improves primiparous pregnant women's readiness for hygienic newborn care. Web-based education may be considered a complementary approach to routine prenatal education provided by healthcare professionals. NCT06719895. 12/05/2024.